Contractors register

Contractors register

The contractors register is the trust’s approved list of external companies that work on the estate. The register exists to answer two questions:

1. “Is this company allowed on site?”
2. “Was their paperwork in order when they did the work?”

What’s stored per contractor

• Company name + trading name + companies house number
• Primary contact — name, phone, email
• Trades / specialisms — what they do (electrical, plumbing, glazing, IT cabling, etc.)
• Insurance — public liability (with expiry), employer’s liability (with expiry)
• Accreditations — Gas Safe, NICEIC, Constructionline, etc., with expiry dates
• DBS status — for those working in school hours
• Safeguarding induction — date completed; required for re-issue annually
• Risk assessment / method statement — uploaded PDFs per major job
• Notes — anything operational

Expiry tracking

Insurance + accreditations + DBS all have expiry dates. The contractors index surfaces:

• Expired — red; the contractor can’t work until renewed
• Expiring < 30 days — amber; nudge them
• Expiring < 90 days — yellow; in your peripheral vision

The system can be configured to email the contractor’s primary contact at 90 / 30 / 7 days before expiry. Don’t disable the alerts — they’re how the gate stays closed.

Linking contractors to work

Every compliance inspection records the contractor who did it. Every change request can list contractors involved. Every Estates ticket that needs a third party can attach a contractor.

This builds the trust’s record over time — “who did the boiler in East Block last year?” becomes a single search.

Onboarding a new contractor

Don’t add contractors speculatively; add them when there’s a real piece of work pending. Required at onboarding:

1. Public liability cert + employer’s liability cert
2. Relevant trade accreditation
3. DBS check (if working during school hours)
4. Safeguarding induction (online, ~20 mins)
5. Site induction (in-person on first visit, signed off by site lead)

Skip any of these and the contractor isn’t on the approved list. Don’t make exceptions for “they’re a friend of the school” — that’s how trusts end up on the front page.

Off-boarding

Mark a contractor Inactive when the relationship ends. Don’t delete — historical jobs reference them. Inactive contractors don’t appear in pickers but their record stays.